Kahkonen wins his seventh straight, channels his inner-Backstrom

Getting success from a fresh-faced Finnish goaltender is not an entirely foreign concept for the Minnesota Wild.
Once upon a time, Niklas Backstrom came over to Minnesota and posted a 23-8-6 record in his first season with the Wild, helping the club win its first and only Jennings Trophy for lowest combined goals-against average.
And while the Jennings Trophy seems unlikely this season, Kahkonen sure is doing his part to channel his inner Backstrom, stopping 26 shots for his first NHL shutout in a 2-0 win against the high-flying Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night, a team that came to St. Paul riding a six-game winning streak.

The victory extended Kahkonen's personal win streak to seven games, the longest such win streak in franchise history and the longest by any goaltender in the NHL this season.

"He's the type of person who doesn't care about anything but getting in the net and competing," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "There's no stress, there's not any type of maintenance. He just goes about his business. I don't think if he was guaranteed a spot that it would be any different than if he came in and won a spot. He's that type of person, that type of goalie."
Fans may remember Backstrom as a no frills, no drama kind of goaltender. You knew he was on his game if he was quiet in the crease, he was calm and steady in his movements and any rebounds were served up into low percentage scoring areas.
That's Kahkonen as well.
"He's a pretty mellow guy. He talks in between periods if he has something to say or he sees something. He's very calm and confident in his abilities. He's been playing great and making saves when we need them most," said Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon. "Especially with some of those where there's a guy sort of sitting there. He's swallowing up those rebounds quick as well so they're not getting those second chances."

Kahkonen acknowledged his personality - or occasional lack there of - on Monday night after the game. Just 24 years old, Kahkonen is the same person after a win as he is after a loss.
He was the same guy on Monday night as he was after his first win during this streak. His demeanor never changes.
"I've been feeling great. It's been a really fun time," Kahkonen said. "But I'm just happy with the way things are going right now. Obviously, getting another win, it's great. It was a great team win, and I don't know, I probably sound really boring on these interviews, but it's just the daily work I believe that matters and doing those little things right, and that will get you there."
Kahkonen has been putting in that work with Wild goaltending coach Freddy Chabot, who like Kahkonen is in his first full season with Minnesota. The two have worked together in Iowa each of the past two seasons and have formed a solid working partnership.
The results are hard to argue with.
Kahkonen was an AHL All-Star as a rookie, then won the AHL's Goaltender of the Year last season.
This year in the NHL? An active seven-game winning streak, a goals-against average just a shade over two and a save percentage of .926. During his winning streak, those numbers have been even better. Over his past seven starts, Kahkonen has a 1.42 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.

"It was great, two years with [Chabot] in Iowa, coming over to play in a new country for the first time. He's been great from day one," Kahkonen said. "During that time we haven't tried to change my game too much. He's been letting me do my thing, but he's just so great of like picking the little things from the game, maybe try to include those little things and adjust.
"I'm not trying to focus on being calm or quiet, maybe, but just trying to focus on being patient. I think that's the key word there. I would probably put it that way. It's just when you're patient, you're calm obviously. But you make yourself look bigger. I've been working on that with Freddy also. Obviously it's a new league for me, and always when you approach a new league you've got to adjust a little bit. Nothing huge there. We haven't changed my game much, but just some little adjustments. So I've got to give credit to him also."

Kahkonen has admitted that his first season as a pro in North America was a challenging one. His outstanding first half earned him a trip to the All-Star Game, but he lost his confidence in the second half, didn't play as much and got homesick.
To his credit, he stuck with it, continued to put the work in with Chabot, and now, almost three years later, Kahkonen looks more than comfortable.
"I think if you want to be calm, you want to look calm. Then your teammates see you're doing your job, and they can focus on their job," Kahkonen said. "I think that's what it's all about, and good to hear it looks like that. That's what I'm trying to do here."
Related:
Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 2, Golden Knights 0